Memorial Societies and funeral Co-ops in Canada
Memorial Societies are non-profit organizations formed to to help its members to plan funerals that are simple, dignified and affordable. Most memorial societies negotiate lower costs for basic services with locally-owned funeral homes. The care and service provided to CCMS members will be equivalent to what any consumer would receive.
The purpose of funeral co-ops is to provide funerals at cost and in a compassionate way. Usually the funeral co-op runs its own funeral company complete with standard services. The funeral company is owned by the members it serves. People join funeral co-ops in anticipation of their own deaths at some point in the future as well as that the deaths of those they love.
The funeral business has been changing in recent years. In the past, funeral homes were family-owned businesses with strong ties to their local community. Today, most funeral homes are owned by large corporations who keep the original "family name" on the door so people are not even aware the business is owned by a large corporation. Sometimes those corporations are American companies.
In Quebec, a network of over 30 funeral co-ops provides approximately 17% of all funerals in the province. The model functions very well especially in smaller communities. The largest funeral co-operative is in the City of Quebec with over 25,000 members and a 50% market share. The funeral co-op movement in Quebec has created their own federation to provide the local co-ops with various services.
There are almost no funeral co-ops west of the Quebec border except for Sudbury, Ontario and Steinbach, Manitoba and one that is being launched in Regina.
In Quebec, a network of over 30 funeral co-ops provides approximately 17% of all funerals in the province. The model functions very well especially in smaller communities. The largest funeral co-operative is in the City of Quebec with over 25,000 members and a 50% market share. The funeral co-op movement in Quebec has created their own federation to provide the local co-ops with various services.
There are almost no funeral co-ops west of the Quebec border except for Sudbury, Ontario and Steinbach, Manitoba and one that is being launched in Regina.
Listing of Memorial Societies
Alberta |
Cooperative Memorial Society Suite 204A, 223-12 Ave SW., Calgary, AB T2R oG9 403-248-2044 / 1-800-566-9959 admin@calgarymemorial.com www.calgarymemorial.com |
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British Columbia |
Memorial Society of British Columbia 205 - 640 West Broadway Vancouver BC V5Z 1G4 https://memorialsocietybc..org mail@memorialsoc.org Tel: 604-733-7705 / Toll Free: 1-888-816-5902 |
Saskatchewan |
Funeral Advisory and Memorial Society of Saskatchewan (FAMSS) Box 1846, Saskatoon, SK. S7K 3S2 Tel: 1-866-283-2677 (within the province only) Tel: 306-374-5190 http://www.famss.ca/faqs.html info@famss.ca |
Manitoba |
Funeral Planning and Memorial Society of Manitoba 613 St Mary's Rd Winnipeg, MB R3M 3L8 Tel: (204) 452-7999 (please leave a message) http://www.funeralsocietymb.org/ E-mail: FPMSInfo@mts.net |
Ontario |
Memorial Society of Northern Ontario Funeral consumer planning information for the residents of Sudbury and North-Eastern Ontario. http://www.memorialsociety.ca/ msnot@gmail.com 705-671-3753 / 1-866-203-5139 Mail: Box 1355, Stn. B Sudbury, ON P3E 5K4 |
Ontario |
Federation of Ontario Memorial Societies (FOOMS-FCA) Funeral Consumers’ Alliance 55 St. Phillips Road, Etobicoke, ON M9P 2N8 http://fooms-fca.org/fms http://www.myfuneralplan.org/ |
Ontario |
The Funeral Information & Memorial Society of Guelph & Area Box 1784, Guelph ON N1H 7A1 memorialsociety_guelph@hotmail.com Kevin Mooney 519.835.9603 |
Ontario |
Memorial Society of Kitchener Waterloo Phone- 519.579.3800 Nina Furniss – 519.699.4028 Mail: 55 Northfield St. E., Suite 303 Waterloo ON N2K 3T6 |
Ontario |
The Funeral Consumers Advocacy of London and Windsor http://www.fcalw.org/ Phone- 519.649.1014 Mail: Box 1729 Stn. B London, ON N6A 5H9 |
Ontario |
Funeral Information Society of Ottawa FISO, P.O.Box 32057, 1386 Richmond Rd. Ottawa,ON K2B 1A1 613 828 4926 Email FISO@ncf.ca http://web.ncf.ca/fiso/ |
Ontario |
The Funeral Advisory and Memorial Society (Toronto) Memorial information and funeral planning information for the Toronto area, including the GTA and Hamilton areas. http://www.fams.ca/ Email: info@fams.ca Phone: 416-241-6274 Mail: PO Box 65 STN F, Toronto ON M4Y 2L4 |
Listing of Funeral Co-operatives
Ontario |
Funeral Co-operative of Ottawa Inc. 419 St. Laurent Boulevard, Ottawa ON K1K 2Z8 Phone: 613-288-2689 http://www.fco-cfo.coop info@fco-cfo.coop |
Ontario |
The Cooperative Funeral Home of the District of Sudbury (First Co-operative funeral home in Canada and probably the first in the world being founded in late 1951 and opened for business in 1952.) 222 Lasalle Boulevard East, Sudbury, ON CA P3A 1W5 Phone: 705-566-2100 Fax: 705-566-1324 Email: generalmail@cooperativefuneraire.ca Daniel D. Johnston | General Manager & Funeral Director https://www.cooperativefuneralhome.ca |
Quebec |
The Funeral Cooperatives Network (Fédération des coopératives funéraires du Québec) now includes 33 funeral cooperatives that operate in four Canadian provinces: Ontario, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Together, these cooperatives have a total of nearly 250,000 members and serve approximately 14,000 families each year.Website • Email 548, rue Dufferin, Sherbrooke (Quebec) J1H 4N1 Phone: 819 566-6303 Fax : 819 829-1593 Email : info@fcfq.coop |
Prince Edward Island |
Funeral Co-operatives of PEI http://www.peifuneralcoops.com/ |
Nova Scotia |
SUNSET FUNERAL CO-OPERATIVE LTD 65 Crowdis Cross Road, Margaree Valley, NS. B0E 2C0 902-248-2991 (Fax 902-248-2739) sunsetfuneralco.op@gmail.com http://www.sunsetfuneralco-op.com |
New Brunswick |
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New Brunswick |
Passage Funeral Co-operative 3754, Route 134, Shediac Bridge, NB E4R 1T3 506-532-1050 1-888-532-1050 Email: info@passagefc.ca |
New Brunswick |
Passage Funeral Chapel 625 Mountain Road, Moncton, NB. E1C 2P1 506-855-1145 1-888-532-1050 Email: info2@passagefc.ca |
New Brunswick |
Chartersville Funeral Home 363 Amirault Street, Dieppe, NB. E1A 1G1 Tel: 506-857-1901 1-888-532-1050 Email: info2@passagefc.ca |
Find funeral co-operatives in Eastern Canada |
Funeral Consumers Alliances in the United States
Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) in the United States represents not-for-profit affiliates similar to memorial societies in Canada. Like memorial societies, they are dedicated to protecting a consumer's right to choose a meaningful, dignified, affordable funeral. There are now about 70 nonprofit funeral-planning groups across the US.
Many FCA affiliates, with the help of their volunteers, do a price survey of area mortuaries. Some have been able to negotiate a discount at participating funeral homes, sort of like a cooperative buyers’ club. Some focus on education and advocacy only. Joining and supporting a local FCA group will help you save thousands of dollars on unnecessary funeral costs while ensuring we can protect a consumer’s last rights in your neighborhood and around the country. Fees to join are similar to CCMS.
Find a FCA in the US
Many FCA affiliates, with the help of their volunteers, do a price survey of area mortuaries. Some have been able to negotiate a discount at participating funeral homes, sort of like a cooperative buyers’ club. Some focus on education and advocacy only. Joining and supporting a local FCA group will help you save thousands of dollars on unnecessary funeral costs while ensuring we can protect a consumer’s last rights in your neighborhood and around the country. Fees to join are similar to CCMS.
Find a FCA in the US